Tesco, Mulled Wine, ABV 10%, £3.95

Lidl Christkindl Mulled Wine, ABV 8.5%, £4.99

An overpowering sweetness mutes any spice complexity, and the consolation prize boozy kick is too soft. Perfectly quaffable, but rival British retailers can take some schadenfreude.
★★★

M&S, Mulled Wine, ABV 12.5%, £4.50

The flavours in the mulled wine – cinnamon, apple and cloves – are lovely, but on the sweet side. Much improved with a slice of orange in it.
★★

Aldi, Gluhwein, ABV 9%, £4.49

You would expect a safe bet in Aldi’s mulled wine considering its German heritage but disappointingly it just doesn’t deliver. Bland in taste with no real alcoholic kick or spices, it’s unlikely to be the winter warmer you need this Christmas.
★★

Co-op Mulled Wine, ABV 10%, £3.49

The warning signs were right there on the label – no wine or fruit, just “sugar syrup, alcohol, water”. It’s UK bottled, suggesting that rather than being grown on sun-kissed Spanish slopes by a master vintner, the constituent parts were chucked into a plastic vat on an industrial estate.
★

Verdict

Sainsbury’s nets the top spot with a spiced winter warmer that was full bodied and rich with complexity. Despite a promising-looking label the Co-Op’s offering was the most disappointing meaning the winners of our mince pie taste test bring up the rear.